Miles said he didn't see loss coming against Alabama

NEW ORLEANS - To see a national championship ooze through their fingers, LSU coach Les Miles said "was painful as anything we've been through."

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This was a season that LSU fans expected to see ending with an exclamation point, a BCS championship win to culminate a perfect season.

Instead, in light of the 21-0 loss to Alabama, it ended with a question mark. And tough questions.

The first one in the postgame interview session came from an interesting source: Bobby Hebert, former NFL quarterback, local radio host and father of a senior LSU player, T-Bob Hebert.

"Coach, did you ever consider bringing in (backup quarterback) Jarrett Lee, considering that you weren't taking any chances on the field?" Hebert said.

"Now, I know Alabama's defense is dominant. But, come on, that's ridiculous, five first downs," he continued. "I mean, so it's almost an approach, I'll tell from you the fans' standpoint, that how can you not maybe push the ball down the field and bring in Jarrett Lee?"

Miles responded that "if you watch our calls that we did throw the football down the field. We didn't necessarily get the football down the field.

"We did consider Jarrett Lee. But we felt like with the pass rush that we were getting that we needed a guy that could move the seat and not sustain that pass rush."

Considering Alabama moved the ball effectively enough to attempt seven field goals - taking a 15-0 lead before Trent Richardson's run broke a 108-plus-minute touchdown schneid in this series - it's clear the LSU defense struggled to stop the Tide.

"Credit to those guys for watching film and being prepared for us," said defensive back Tyrann Mathieu.

But it was what happened to LSU's offense that was Tuesday's four-aspirin hangover for Tiger Nation.

Starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who took the job for good after two Lee interceptions in the Nov. 5 game at Tuscaloosa, fumbled three times, never completed a pass longer than 19 yards and rushed for a net 15 yards on 14 carries.

So LSU fans - and broadcasting fathers - were ready for a change when Jefferson consistently sputtered.

Miles defended his decision by saying "it would be unfair to (Lee) ... to put him in late in that game" against Alabama's pass rush.

Jefferson, Miles believed, could throw as well as Lee and be more mobile.

LSU obviously planned to showcase that mobility early. Seeing Georgia Southern's success against Alabama in running an option, the Tigers added the option as part of their arsenal. But the run didn't work, two procedure penalties led to first-and-15 predicaments and Jefferson didn't have time to find receivers downfield.

It all led to LSU frustration nicely said atop The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune on Tuesday morning in a two-word summation: "Tiger Drag."

As Miles admitted, "I told my team I did not see it coming. And that's my fault. I wish I could have done something to help them. But for my players that worked their tails off, they started in their career to put themselves in position to win a game like that. To them I owe a lot. We have to be better."